


The Error In Your Orbit*

by Kamari333



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aftertale Sans | Error (Undertale), Aftertale Sans | Error/Outertale Sans (Undertale), Aftertale Sans | Error/Reapertale Sans (Undertale), Aftertale Sans | Error/Underfell Sans (Undertale), Blankets, Canon-Typical Violence, Chocolate, Christmas, Chronic Illness, Cuddles, Cussing, Gift Fic, Haphephobia, Implied Aftertale Sans | Error/Underlust Sans (Undertale), M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Outertale Sans (Undertale), Polyamory, Reapertale Sans (Undertale), References to Illness, Reunions, Underfell Sans (Undertale), _____tale Sans | Ink (Undertale), _____tale Sans | Ink/Aftertale Sans | Error (Undertale), astrophobia, beanbag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-19 15:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22046332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamari333/pseuds/Kamari333
Summary: Impulse, an Outertale Sans, has been on earth for some years, but he hasn't forgotten the person who once filled his vast emptiness in space with a little something more.How fortuitous that he might have a chance to see Error again.
Relationships: Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 40
Kudos: 169
Collections: Kamari333 Gifts and Prompts





	The Error In Your Orbit*

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AriIsOnFire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriIsOnFire/gifts).



> A gift fic for AriIsOnFire from Galli's Rarepair Discord Server.  
> I wasn't originally your secret santa, but I hope this little ficlet makes your holidays a bit brighter.  
> Happy New Year!
> 
> *Disclaimer: Orbit, the Outertale Papyrus (Impulse's brother) does not make an appearance in this fic.

Impulse clung tight to Ink's hand, shuddering as he was pulled through the puddle of gaudy orange paint. His feet left the cool, sweet grass of his back yard to land on inert whiteness. Despite the similarities to Space (the endless expanse of infinity in all directions but down; the lack of true air; the way the emptiness pressed down on him from all sides like a physical weight, making the space between his shoulder blades itch and the magic strung between his pelvis and ribs twist up uncomfortably), the Anti-Void didn't immediately throw him into a traumatic PTSD episode, and for that, Impulse was endlessly grateful.

Even so, it took a few moments of steady breathing and adjusting himself before Impulse was in any state to move.

By that point, Ink had already located the target of his objective, and all Impulse had to do was follow the sound of screaming.

"hOw MaNy FuCkInG tImEs Do I hAvE tO tElL yOu NoT tO fUcKiNg Do ThAt?!?!" snarled the glitchy, broken voice. Blue strings arched through the air, twisting and twining as they chased the protector around the area.

Ink ran and dodged the dangerous threads, laughing with a smile on his face. "Sorry! I forgot!"

"b-bUlLsHiT!!" Error declared, throwing another handful of string at his rival. The strands darted around like snakes, diving for Ink, who only spun and ducked just out of reach, laughing all the more.

If Impulse had to guess, he would say there was a fifty-fifty shot of Ink having actually forgotten whatever it was. The artist was painfully forgetful, even of things he didn't seem to want to forget. However, Ink was also the type to do things just to get a reaction out of others, to make things interesting in some desperate attempt to find meaning in his soulless, emotionless life, beating on the proverbial walls to fill the void. Ink may have just calculated risk to reward and judged whatever inconvenience to Error to be worth it.

Impulse watched the two demigods chase each other around the antivoid Error called home, sapphire strings decorating the endless white more and more until there was a latticework of it laying limp on the floor. Impulse made certain to stay out of the wide radius covered in the strands, backing up a few paces so he could avoid the trap that Error was setting.

Sure enough, during one of Ink's jumps to avoid another string yet again, all the strings that _had_ been thrown around tensed at once, and rose up, catching the unsuspecting artist in a woven net that tied itself shut to hang him from the ceiling. Broomy fell uselessly to the ground under him, well out of reach, leaving Ink hanging, weaponless, in the trap he hadn't seen coming.

Or, perhaps he had, since his smile never wavered. "Aw! Did you _make_ this for me?? You shouldn't have!"

"gO tO hElL aNd DiE!" Error snarled, starting to tighten the strings of the net, his intent to crush or slice Ink into pieces.

"Impulse, look at this!" Ink called, as if he thought Impulse hadn't been watching from the beginning.

Error froze, the net once more going slack to hold Ink comfortably. He turned, the glitches on his body going suddenly quiet, eyelights sharp and small. "iMpUlSe?"

Impulse waved, relieved that his old friend remembered him after all this time. 'hey error,' he signed, knowing better than to try to talk. His voice hadn't worked since he left the vacuum of space, any real attempts making his body seize up and cough hard enough to hurt. 'merry giftmas.'

Error leered up at him, expression radiating the nostalgic irritation and disdain that Impulse remembered so well. "bAh MoThEr FuCkInG hUmBuG. wHy ArE yOu HeRe?"

Impulse smiled down at Error, reaching into his coat to pull out a package from the inside pouch. He held it out with both hands, hoping his expression would convey the implied 'take it' well enough for Error to oblige him. When, instead of using his hand, Error sent out a few strings to loop around the package and lift it delicately from Impulse's hands, he made certain the stringer had a firm grip before letting go. 'time is weird here, but back home it’s giftmas, and i wanted to make sure you had something...'

Impulse didn't want to bring up how Error stopped visiting after his universe got a true pacifist ending, how once they were all on earth, the glitch didn't bother coming to see him anymore. Impulse didn't want to bring up how lonely he had been over the last four years, working through therapy to adjust to earth's gravity. He didn't want to bring up how much he had missed Error, in all his hateful, irritable glory.

He was pretty sure his crush was one sided. He was lucky Ink had stumbled into his flower shop on accident and been so willing to bring him to the anti-void. He was lucky Error hadn't attacked him on sight, never mind remembered his name.

Ink was grinning even wider where he hung in his prison, watching the two of them with rapt attention. It was the kind of interest that Impulse couldn't help being suspicious of.

Error, meanwhile, was pointedly not looking at anything but the package, pulling it out of his strings with both hands and ripping into the wrapping paper with equal parts viciousness and care. The gift within unfolded in his hands, revealing a large knitted blanket that sparkled like starlight, the pattern a painfully accurate map of the night sky, save for the exaggerated colors (purples and blues and golds and greens, thread woven with stardust and light). Impulse winced a bit as the little bags of hot cocoa mix fell out from where they had been wrapped with the blanket, hitting the ground with a thud.

Error looked down at the packets, then back to the blanket, thumbing at the fabric in his hands.

'i know you like stars-' Impulse signed hastily, looking at his own hands instead of at the glitch. 'and i know you can see them whenever you want, and you can probably do much better work with your string anyway, but i thought maybe you might find some use for it, even if it’s just as a rug or-'

"sHuT uP," Error snapped, the force of it stilling Impulse's hands. "...yOu MaDe ThIs."

'yeah.'

Impulse heard the sweep of fabric, and looked up to see Error had draped the blanket over his body. The glitch bent town to scoop up the chocolate packets, stuffing them into his pockets as if he were concerned about spontaneous chocolate mix theft. Then he turned to Ink, gritting his teeth. "wHy ThE fUcK dId YoU bRiNg HiM hErE?!"

Impulse didn't flinch, but it was a near thing.

Ink's smile vanished, and he tilted his head to one side, eyelights flickering. "Did I get the wrong one? I was sure it was him. Impulse, right? The outertale verse with the black hole?"

Error's face dusted in gold. "wErE yOu SpYiNg On Me?!?! YoU bAsTaRd!!! I'lL kIlL yOu!!"

Ink just laughed, taking a quick sip of yellow paint, then pink. "So I did find the right guy!"

Impulse didn't understand, and despite not being sure either of them could see him, he signed out as much. 'what are you talking about?'

Error clenched his fist out in front of him, a gesture that seemed to affect the net as it began to squeeze down on Ink. Ink yelped in surprise, first at the increase in pressure, then as he fell, the net suddenly falling to pieces out from under him, opening up from the top like a flower as the severed end of the strings fluttered down around him.

"now now, its giftmas! let’s keep the rough stuff to a minimum," said a voice that Impulse didn't recognize, deep and profound in a visceral way. He looked up to see a figure as tall as himself, hidden in a black cloak, floating above where Ink had once hung. A scythe gleamed in his hands before it vanished without a trace.

"Thanks, Reaper!" Ink called, taking that opportunity to grab his giant paintbrush and run behind Impulse to hide, still snickering.

"fUcK oFf, ReApS," Error snapped, flipping Reaper off. He spun to go after Ink again, stopping short when he realized Impulse was inadvertently standing between them.

Impulse waved. 'well. i guess i should be going. don’t wanna overstay my welcome. ink, could you-'

"What’s the rush?" Ink asked, linking arms with Impulse. "We're having a movie night! Stay!"

"hE dOeSn'T wAnT tO fUcKiNg StAy YoU sTuPiD sQuId!" Error snarled, his face still powdered with that yellow light, shining through the streaks of blue on his dark face. "wHy ThE fUcK dId YoU bRiNg HiM iNtO tHiS wHeN hE nEeDs To Be ReStInG aT hOmE?!?!"

Impulse didn't know how to unpack all of that.

"ohoh?" Reaper all but landed right behind Error, looming over him. "is this blanket new? it’s very handsome. can i touch it, error?"

Error growled in his throat, still giving Ink a dirty look, but he nodded. Reaper pulled his hood back, revealing a soft, almost gentle smile that reached the dark voids in his sockets that Impulse couldn't look at for more than an instant. The embodiment of death lay gentle hands on Error's shoulders, rubbing over the blanket fabric. "it's soft."

"nO sHiT," Error grumbled. The glitches over his body fuzzed and stuttered near where Reaper's hands lay, but Error didn't seem to be having the same trouble Impulse remembered. _He must have made significant progress fighting his haphephobia._ Impulse was... glad for it.

'i asked ink to bring me,' Impulse admitted. 'when i heard him talk about you, after so long, i wanted to see how you were doing.'

"aFtEr So LoNg..?"

'yeah,’ Impulse wrung his hands, wishing he could stuff them in his pockets and still carry on a conversation. 'probably should have just sent him with the gift instead of bugging you. sorry. i'll get out-'

"jUsT sIt ThE fUcK dOwN bEfOrE yOu HuRt YoUrSeLf, IdIoT," Error snapped, gesturing over to a collection of beanbag chairs and hammocks that Impulse hadn't quite noticed.

Ink tugged Impulse over to them, still grinning freely. "You can sit here in my spot today."

Impulse signed a very confused 'thank you' as he leaned back in the beanbag, sighing in relief as he could finally ease the weight of his body off his feet. With all the excitement, he'd hardly realized how tired he'd become.

Impulse didn't even notice his sockets fluttering shut, the overly bright Anti-Void going darker and darker for him until he'd fallen into the sweet embrace of sleep.

* * *

Error eased himself down into the beanbag next to Impulse, finally letting himself take in the person he hadn't expected to see again. Impulse was still tall, as tall as Reaper, and thin and fragile as a bird, his bones hollow and brittle from a lifetime in deep space. The vibrant rainbow of color he once sported in a near constant blush (unlike Ink's own and yet alarmingly alike in a way Error was never going to think too deeply on) was conspicuously absent, leaving his bones pale and cold.

Error knew Impulse had gone through changes when the dumbass kid finally saved monsterkind in his universe (the glitch had trouble adapting to gravity and pressure he had never exposed himself to before), but it was one thing to see it through the window of code he used to check in on him with, and another to see it in person.

"So do you like your present?" Ink asked, smirking devilishly from the other side of Impulse's sleeping form. "I did good, right?"

"yOu'Re An IdIoT."

Error felt Reaper's hands knead gently at his shoulders through the thick blanket, gentle pressure that was simultaneously irritating and a relief. "you put up the cutest little fights when someone shows they care about you," the god cooed, slowly snuggling closer, giving Error plenty of time to yeet him across the metaphorical room if he really wanted to.

"yOu'Re AlSo An IdIoT," Error hissed, deciding he wouldn't kill them both quite yet. The deep, low chuckle against the side of his skull sent shivers down his spine that had nothing to do with the glitches ever present on his body.

Ink settled down on Impulse's other side, still grinning that infuriatingly fake, empty grin. "I can see why you like him. He's all soft and cute and trusting-"

The yelp Error ripped out of Ink when he used his threads to yeet him in a random direction was viscerally satisfying.

Reaper tutted, curling up more against Error's side. If Error was wary of contact, the god craved it like a starving man, soaking it up in any way possible without seemingly meaning to. "go get lust and red, inky. we can all tease them together when you get back."

"tHeRe WiLl Be No TeAsInG, aSsHoLe," Error snapped, although even he could hear that the bite was gone from it.

"Be back soon!!" Ink called, before the wet 'plop' signaled he'd gone as he had come, through another gaudy ass paint spill.

Error looked back to Impulse, who still lay dead to the world, infuriatingly trusting. By all rights, Error should have destroyed his universe (him included) a long time ago. But he hadn't. Even when Impulse had found him during one of his self imposed vacations, he hadn't.

The stars were beautiful. The company was... tolerable.

Yes. Tolerable was the word. Nothing more.

Error hadn't been upset at all when Impulse stopped meeting him on that hunk of space rock. He hadn't felt a damn thing when he found out Impulse had been hospitalized. He hadn't cared. _Nope._

Error wasn't clinging to that stupid blanket like a safety line. His hand wasn't hovering over Impulse's limp one, glitches fluttering up and down his phalanges.

"if you're worried about what the rest of us think," Reaper murmured, soft and low and soothing as he always was ( _damn him_ ), "ink already talked to us about it. if he's important to you, he's important to us, ruru."

_Damn them all._

"mAyBe He AiN't InTeReStEd iN a SeTuP lIkE tHiS," Error hissed back through gritted teeth.

"mmm, love when ya talk like that, sweetheart," Red's voice purred over the air, gritty and self satisfied ( _as fucking usual, the abomination, the prick_ ).

"sHuT tHe FuCk Up AnD gO dIe!"

"i brought ya a big o'l chocolate santa~" Red sing-songed, wiggling what had to be five pounds of molded dark chocolate.

Obviously, all was forgiven, so Error spared his life in favor of taking the candy in his strings and pulling it into his lap to start unwrapping. If Red's snicker was a bit too victorious, Error was in a good enough mood to pretend he didn't hear. He dug into the candy with gusto, biting off the poof-ball on the top of the santa hat as Red settled into the spot Ink had vacated beside Impulse.

"this th' new guy?"

"his name is impulse, and yes. inky did good, i think."

"we do th' stupid touchy-feely-talky shit yet?"

"i don't think so."

"fuck'rs thin as a fuck'n' toothpick, could snap his arm with two fuckin' fingers," Red observed aloud.

"nOt If I rIp YoUr FuCkInG hEaD oFf YoUr StUpId AsS AbOmInAtIoN nEcK," Error snapped between swallowing the first bite down and taking the second out of the chocolate santa's hat. Really, the chocolate was high quality, super rich, just the way he loved it. _Red always got him the best chocolate._ Somehow.

Fucker.

Red and Reaper looked at each other over Error's head, stupid shit-eating grins on their stupid shit-eating faces.

"wouldn't dream o' it, sweetheart," Red assured Error.

By the time Ink arrived with Lust, Error had eaten half of the chocolate santa. Impulse was still asleep, so Error just started the movie without him. If he wanted to sleep through it, that was his goddamn business.

They could watch another one together later.

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, there's this big ass Error Harem Poly that I have been toying around with, and it looks like Impulse stumbled into it. XD  
> He's gonna have quite a lot of cuddles and smooches when he wakes up and they talk.


End file.
